Game board or table



Nov. 24, 1925. ,562,800

J. F. SMITH GAME BOARD OR TABLE Filed April 18, 1924 IEg-L.

Patented Nov. 24, 1925.

UNITED STATES JOE F. SMITH, OF DALLAS, TEXAS.

GAME BOARD 0R TABLE.

Application filed April 18, 1924. Serial No. 707,441.

To all fr0/0m 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jon F. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Game Board or Table, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to improvements in means to facilitate the playing of tile games.

In the playing of tile games, such as Mah j ongg, a plurality of elongated substantially rectangular shaped playing pieces are used, which are preferably uniform in dimensions, and which of necessity at the beginning of the game have to be placed in four single rows arranged to form a perfect square, with two tiers of tiles to each row. This square tile arrangement is conveniently termed the wall, and it is essentially desirable that the square be formed as neatly as' possible, for the four players of the game. It is difcult to accurately form this wall, so that the same number of tiles appear in each row of the wall, and it is therefore an object of t-he invention to provide a board upon which the wall may be built accurately, and so as to permit the facile detachment of the upper and lower tiers of tiles from each row.

In the playing of the game racks are also used by the players, for supporting the individual players tiles thereon, which comprise the players hand, and these racks are placed in slightly spaced relation to the adjacent wall of the player, and parallel therewith. It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel type of rack, cooperatively associated in tile supporting relation with the board in which the groove is formed for building the wall, and in cooperative spaced relation to the groove for facilitating building of the wall.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide a board or table having apparatus upon one side thereof to facilitate the playing of Mah jongg, and more particularly embodying means for quickly and accurately building the conventional four sided wall; improved rack means for each of the individual players of the game, upon which to support the tiles in a concealed relation from the other players; and improved means for supporting counters in an orderly arrangement.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a Mah jongg playing board of the above mentioned character having one side thereof preferably equipped with apparatus rigid therewith to facilitate the playing of Mah jongg, and on the opposite side thereof providing a plane table surface, which may be used for the playing of other games, or for any other purpose.

@ther objects and advantages of this invvention will be apparent during the course of the following detailed description.

ln the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, and wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure l is a plan view of the improved playing board, showing the Varrangement and construction thereof for receiving tiles and counters to facilitate the playing of Mah jongg. g

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken through the playing board or table, substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

`.Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken through a portion of the table, showing novel construction details thereof.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown the preferred embodiment of the Mah jongg board or table, the letter A may generally designate the same, which consists Y board B having the C thereon.

The supporting board B of the Mah jongg table A preferably provides a plane lower surface 15, which may be used to pla-y other games, or for other purposes, whereas the upper surface 16 of the supporting plate or board B is formed for the playing of Mah j ongg. Inwardly of the surface 16 of the sup porting member C a substantially rectangular shaped way 18 is formed, which consists of the four straight grooves 19, 20, 2l and 22, each of the same width, sufficient to comfortably receive the t-iles l) therein, with the length of the tiles extending crosswise of the slots or grooves, and as is illustrated in Figure l of the drawing. The grooves 19 and 21 are inl parallel relation, as are also the grooves 2O and 22, and the rectangle formed by the communicating Orooves is adapted to receive the tiles for Jthe forming of the four sided conventional wall. These grooves are each of the same depth, and when using lthe standard size tiles the grooves may be novel rack construction of the supporting-v one-quarter inch in depth, although the depth `of these grooves may vary, according to the thickness of the tiles used in the playing of the game. These lgrooves are preferably parallel with their adjacent edges of the rectangular or square shaped board member B. The space 25 bounded by the grooves 19 to 22 inclusive is, of course, used for supporting the tiles from which the players draw, and .for receiving the ldiscarded tiles.

The advantage of providing the grooves in the board-or "table, as illustrated and above mentioned, will be apparent to those skilled in the playing of the game Mah jongg. The forming of the wall is difficult, somewhat tedious, and very often is `disarranged if thetable is jarred. However, with the lowermost tiles of the wall located in the grooves, thexwall is rigidly positioned inaccurate formation, and the lengths of the various grooves lis of exact dimension to receive the number of tiles in each side of the wall. It ispreferred that the `depth'of the vgrooves be 'slightly less than the thickness -of the tiles, so that the upper portion ofthe lowermost tiles project slightly above 'the playing surface 16 of the board, to facilitategrasp of the same by the players.

As the game of Mah jongg is ordinarily played, each individual has his own rack, which is freely movable over the table, and which is not always positioned to permit the best visibility of the tiles by the player, and sometimes does not conceal the tiles in the best position. The loose racks, of course, are easily tipped, and it is a common occurrence for a player to tip over his rack when reaching for a tile. The improved device A includes -the rack construction C, which comprises thefour racks 30, 31, 32 and 33, formed rigid on the board member B, and in an exact relation with respect to the four sided way'18.

yEach of the racks of this invention are of the same construction, and but one of them will be described. Eachrack is ymortised inwardly of the surface 16 of the board or supporting member B, being placed within a suitable groove 35 which mayr be provided inwardly of the surface 16, and theracks -are glued or otherwise rigidly secured in these grooves 35, so` that they cannot become accidentally displaced. The outside surface :of yeach rack, facing the player for which the rack is intended, is cut away to provide an inclined surface 37, which is inclined about 15o to the vertical; this inclined surface 37 only extending for a sufficient length along the rack to permit the reception of the maximum number of tiles which any player may hold at one time. At the ends of the inclined surface 37, the shoulders 39 are provided, so that the tiles cannot be slid longitudinally off the rack. The supporting member B, adjacent-.each rack, and just below the inclined surface 37 of each rack is provided with an inclined surface 41,

rwhich is formed in the supporting member B, at an obtuse angle with respect to the horizontal plane surface 16, and which surface 41 is disposed in a plane at right angles to the inclined surface 37, and cooperates with the latter surface in receiving the lower edge of the tile in resting relation thereagainst, so-that the tile may be supported in a Asnugly inclined relation, as is illustrated in the dotted linesv in Figure 3 of the drawing. This construction of the supporting board B and each rack yis a. very simple one, and provides an effective support forthe tiles of a player, in easy reach of the player, readily visible by him or her, and in the best concealed relation with respect to other players.

The-racks 30, 31, 32 and 33, are disposed in adjacent parallel relation with respect to the grooves 19, 20, 21 and 22, and each rack between the rear'vertical surface 42 thereof and its adjacent parallel groove,`provides a portion 16n of the surface 16, which is adapted to receive the matched tiles, or sequences; the width of the surface 16a being equal to or greater than the length of a tile, to receive the matched tiles or sequences as is illustrated in Figure 1 ofthe drawings.

Each of the racks 30, 31, 32 and 33, has an end portion 45, which extends beyond an adjacent rack, and which portion 45 is used for securing thereto a plurality of partitions 48, which provide three compartments 49, at one end of each of the racks, for each player, which compartments are adapted to receive the counters used by the players.

From the foregoing description of this invention it is apparent that a novel table or board for playing of Mah jongg has been provided, which embodies features which will relieve the players of some of the dis concerting and tedious features of playing the game. The rigid arrangement of racks and slots for the wall building are features, the advantage of which will be instantly apparent to any one skilled in the playing of this game. The tables or boards may, of course, be `of any approved construction, and in the preferred instance the. lboardswill be veneered on bot-h sides. A

Various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be made to the form of the playing table or board' herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a device to facilitate the playing of tile games the combination of a playing board having a groove formed inwardly of the plane of the playing surface thereof suitable for receiving the tiles in conventional manner for building of the Wall, and racks rigidly supported by the board in adjacent relation With the grooves.

2. In a tile game table the combination of a supporting top having a playing surface With a groove formed in rectangular man ner therein, said groove being suitable to receive the tiles for the building of the conventional Wall, racksrigidly supported on the board, the surface of the board between each groove and an adjacent rack being sutilcient in Width to accommodate the tiles of a player thereon.

3. In a board to facilitate the playing of tile games the combination of a supporting member, racks rigidly supported by the supporting member in rectangular formation, each of the racks having an inclined suriace thereon to receive the tiles in resting in- -clined relation thereagainst, said board with in this area bounded by Said rack havinga substantially rectangularly formed groove inwardly of the plane of the playing surface thereof adaptable for receiving the tiles of a game set for the purpose of building a four sided Wall.

4;. In a tile gaine table the combination of a Supporting board having Straight grooves formed inwardly of the plane surface thereof to provide a rectangle suitable for receiving tiles for the building of a Wall, racks rigidly attached to the board outwardly of the Wall building grooves therein, said racks having inclined surfaces thereon for supporting tiles of the player, and partitions supported by the board and rack for receiving the counters of the players.

JOE F. SMTH. 

